#WATWB October Late Entry – Horticulture Program

A week late I’ve sneaked a post in our latest #WATWB Edition.  Our generous co-hosts for this month are:

Sylvia McGrath,
Lizbeth Hartz,
Shilpa Garg,
Mary Giese,
and Belinda Witzenhausen.

 

 

Source: Picture from ABC News Australia.

In a story from Australia’s ABC News “Good News” link I read:

Twice a week, Grace takes a break from her life in the lockup and is able to feel as though she is at home again.

She is one of dozens of female prisoners involved in a horticulture program at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre, which started earlier this year.

The program, situated in the relatively green and leafy yards beside the prison, aims to equip prisoners with practical skills and build up their confidence in the process.

 

Among the key points in the story there’s….

• Participants report that spending time in the garden and the bush has boosted their mood and taught them a lot.
• The program manager reports that no task is too much for participants and that the program has given them valuable skills for reintegrating into the workforce when they leave prison.

Originally started for men, this program is now in place for woman.  Alice Springs is in the Red Centre of Australia and very significant for Indigenous Australians.  This program is sure to be win for these women and the environment as well.

Please check out other #WATWB post on online and share the good news with others.

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#WATWB June – Man with no hands sells sketches in bid to raise money for homeless

As soon as I pick that pencil up I feel like I’m healed.

Robert Drew

 

Picture from ABC News: : Former homeless artist and recovering drug addict Robert Drew has been selling his sketches to get by on the streets. (ABC News: Anna Hartley)

 

Robert Drew was born without fingers. What’s more he has been in the grip of drug addiction.  He tried ice, pot, and alcohol. But his drawing has drafted – pun intended – a new perspective.  Clearly he has a talent. Please check out the article on ABC News Australia.

What a great way to utilize our talents for a better life.

Robert’s story is my (late arrival) focus for this month’s We Are The World Blogfest #WATWB post for June 2019.

Our co-hosts this month are:
Sylvia McGrath,
Susan Scott,
Shilpa Garg,
Eric Lahti,
and Belinda Witzenhausen.  Please head over to their pages and all using the #WATWB.

Robert Drew reminded me of an earlier poem of mine called “We Are More”. There is an excerpt below.

We Are More

(iii)

He takes his “Please help” sign,

Turns it round,

And with

A texta he found,

Begins

To sketch,

Feebly at first,

Then

With gusto,

A portrait

Of her,

That Toulouse-Lautrec

Would be proud of.

Yes

We are more

Than the symptoms seem.

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More good news on the #WATWB tag